Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1887-08-20
WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, !

q
In my last letter l wrote of the
land surveying fraudulent accounts
from California, which had been
worked over by "reform Demo-
Gratis, years after the accounts had |
been paid and payment secured a |
second time. The affair is yelled in |
such mystery that / am only able to
state the amount of loss S7O,OOO--
sustained from this source by the
Government it is not improbable |
that fnther and fuller particulars
will soon be forthcoming. Frauds
aud Irregularities in the public SER
wee seem to be the order, or rather
the disorder, of the day as the base
ballists have it, the Treasury and
Interior Departments having had
their innings" it is now the turn of
the War Department, and it comes
b0bbingu up. First, with the vanished
$1,000, which an Army Paymaster
permitted Wyoming Territory
cowboy to "rob" him of; it has
been decided that the officer was
too careless with that large sum of
money and he has been relieved
from duty till he or his bondsmen
replace the loss; Second-with the
irregularities-nOt to use harsher
term-in the Quartermaster Gen.
erals Department the veterinary
surgeon was constrained to resign,
because he had been keeping a pri-
vate livery stable at the expense OF
the Government-pleading ignor-
ance of the law as bis reason for
such reprehensible conduct; still, he
was allowed to depart in peace
then the scandal caused by the army
officers using the teams of the De-
partment for purely private purpos-
es-such as hauling building mater
ials for their residences and fertiliz-
ers for their gardens, &c. And, last
ly, the disallowance by the Controll-
er of the Treasury, of the bills for
the purchase of horses for the per-
sonal use of Mr.. Endicott, the Mug.
wump Secretary of War.
Tt may seem cruel in me, but, l
shall also have to ventilate fraud
that has just come to the surface in
the Department presided over by
the dudish Whitley of Standard Oil
fame; Paymaster George r. Wat
kins, United States Navy, has been
dismissed the service by court
martial for the following good and
sufficient reasons. Issuing clothes
and supplies to sailors and mariners
and charging the same as cash; of
buying coal above market rates and
of certifying falsely contrary to
facts; charging cash payments to
dead men; of other similar charges,
and of disobedience of orders and of
desertion. Before being dismissed
the Paymaster must serve his coun-
try three years in the penitentiary !;
his clerk convicted for forgery and
malicious destruction of pablo re-
cords, was sentenced to four years
in prison, and to pay fine 81, 900;
the President has RENTED the fine
and reduced the imprisonment to
TWO years.
Writing of 'lrregularities" re-
minds me of case that excites
much comment in the Interior De-
partment-that of Jno. B. Riley,
Superintendent of Indian Schools,
who, while receiving salary of 49,
900 IA year, has been absent several
months at his home in Plattsburg,
N. Y. The only known reason for
his action, which appears rather
trivial, is that there is difference
of opinion as to the superintendent
precise authority.
Mr.. Frederick Douglass has re-
turned from long and delightful
tour of Europe, and he is full of in
teresting "reminiscences OF the trip.
He was every where we'll received
and Hospitality entertained. "No-
where" Mr.. Douglass said, "by a
single word, look, or gesture was
disapproval expressed of my color
or the kinks in my hair, and have
had most pleasant and agreeable
time during my stay abroad"